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Choose the Topic you would like Al to Address: Choose a Topic Below... Love Sex Pregnancy Loneliness Priorities Too Busy Insecurity Material things Rejection Anger Forgiveness Suicide a Sin Witness God's Will Ministry Satanism Security Death Salvation? I feel suicidal Bad Language Drugs/Alcohol Addiction Gossiping and/or Lying Guilt Trust Smoking or Dipping? Abortion Occult Suffering My parents hate me Rebelling Obedience Sharing Jesus with Parents Divorce Question 4. Why do I feel so lonely? Loneliness is a feeling of not being loved and cared for by others. It is probably the most awful emotion a person can feel. Loneliness is widespread today, especially among teens. In fact, it may be the biggest problem confronting teenagers today. If you feel lonely, you are not alone. What is loneliness? First, it is a feeling. It is different from being alone -- that's a physical state. Being lonely is psychological. Loneliness is feeling unloved and unimportant to others. It is a feeling that nobody cares and nobody needs you. Loneliness usually makes you feel depressed and empty on the inside. Many things can cause loneliness: boredom, being alone too much, sickness, discouragement, breakups, or seeing other people date and get married. Sure, sometimes loneliness can be our own fault because we're self-centered and feel sorry for ourselves. As long as we put ourselves before others, we will always feel lonely. Sometimes, loneliness is not our fault. Believe it or not, there is a good kind of loneliness. In the Bible, we find that sometimes God allows his children to go through periods of solitude and loneliness to teach them to depend on him. David, Joseph, Moses, Paul, Elijah, and John the Baptist all experienced loneliness. Spiritual maturity often results from this kind of suffering. God will allow us to be alone and lonely to make us to turn to him. There are good and bad ways to respond to loneliness. Here's an example of a bad response: "If only I had someone to love me, I wouldn't be lonely." The more you think this, the more angry and depressed you will become. How should you respond when you feel lonely? First, be honest and tell God how you feel. Ask him if you have caused people to distance themselves from you because of self-centeredness or self-pity. If so, confess that to God and accept his forgiveness. If not, ask him for the strength to make it through this lonely time. Ask him to teach you how to reach out to other lonely, hurting people. Thank God for your loneliness and ask him to show you that Christ really is all you need. Remember, if Jesus lives in your heart, you can never really be alone. He loves you, he cares about you, and you are important to him.